Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-30
VINCENT'S STORY.
TWO YEARS AMONG THE TcHUKTcHIs
OF KAMscaATKA.
Adventures Of a Survivor Of tho Bark Ma.
poleon. Of New Bedford-The Ship
Crushed Like an EgSshell.
lSaa Franclsco Ietter.l

Woil-built, powerful, good-iooking man
named J. Is. Vincent He had been
picked up hy the Government vessel on
the shores oi the kamschatka Sea,
about ten mii,s south OF Cape NayaFin,
and bad q strange story to tell of his
adventures from the time when in Feb
IuaIy. 1855. Zee iir, boarded the whaler
NAPOLEON. The JOUr,0i correspondent
rcndIly found }.r. Vincent, and found
him as ready to tell bis story, which he
did in pretty much thc following terms
ala DOW tWcuiy-cight years old,
and was bonn at Marthas Vine
ward, and since I was a youngster
always bad liking for the sea
md thought / coU'd stand the cold
well and might just as easily earn my
living going North as anywhere else.
Two years ago last February | shipped
on board the whaler Napoleon 0long
with thiIty-six others, aud to-day 1
often wonder how it IS ! had the luck
10 come into san Francisco bay once
more, for / never thought to zee It
again. After We got started We went
night along all well till we got up to-
wards Cape Nayariu. That was about
the oth Of May. Then the ice closed in
upon us, and it was just ike taking
On empty ege3hell In your hand. The
ship went IN so quickly, and We had
narrow squeak OF 1t to divide up into
four gangs Of nine each and take 10 the
boats. OF the four boat-loads / guess
You heard how the Fleetwing picked UP
two Of them after they had been sufie,-
ing Dinety hours and four ont OF eigh-
teen bad died The third boat was
swallowed up altogether-that meant
thirteen Ewes gone and then the boat
was in dritcd round for ten days as
nearly az / en- remember, going south
from where we were wrecked and then
moving up north again. making n V
shaped course. After drifting about
for ten days We finally landed, or
la,hcr ran the boat up on the ice about
ten niles south OF Cape Nayarin, and
there We lay twentysiX whole days,
keeping ourselves alive on two small
seals which We killed and ate raw. OF
course tue cold was at times fearful,
and the men dropped off like sheepuntil
only four OF us were left. We made up
our minds to try the sea, and If posi-
be itt. p. the attention Of d passing
Wha 'er. We beat about for siXty-tWO
miles 10 the south and then we came
back sgaiu and bad the luck TO strike
low opening among the steep cliffs. As
soOu as we landed We saw a party of
Indians who called Out to us Alasinka,
masruka, which We learned meant
good ~ or "go0d friends. They
helped rs out Of our boats and got us
under cover IN their low huts, and treat
cd us vel, kindly. They are . title
sturdy mce of people with thick,
straight black HAIR and skins rs gel
low as Chinamap. Is soon as |
was able 10 hc about | found we were
close 10 a ircsh-water lagoon which
mi0lt have been Que' .er Of a mile
woe and twenty miles long. II was
fed as far as could see by two streams
coming down from the mountains and
had DO outlet 1t was well stocked
with trout, salmon, and a red fish some
thing like a trout. We were well on in
summer then, and had a chance to look
round on the drearlcst country imqgi-
nablc. No vegetation but a scrub
by cranberry amt coarse grass,
which their ,Iy. awkward lit
tie women "a orel for tirewood.
However We soon learned with
the family who had taken care Of rs to
split and dry fish, and ! earned my
loaId at least In this way we lived
ior about month, when one day we
saw coming toward us a caravan, as
you might call it, of about fifty sledges,
drawn 10y reindeer and driven 10y per
bsps twenty-five Indians, tall, we'll
built fellows, and finer every way than
the little fellows who had belrlended
Us. The coast Indians treated the
new arrivals, or Tchuktchis as they
were called, with q good deal Of re
speCt, and | struck up friendship with
an old man seventy years of age, owe
siX feet high and as straight as tele-
graph pole, with a good, kind face, and
quiet manners. His name was U-tou-
raj, and when / made him understand
how We had got shipwrecked he swofe
bee would Put me back TO my people.
My three mates had suffered more than
l did, and the old man took charge of
me at once.
BY asking questions which are here
omitted, Mr. Vincent afforded the fol-
lowing information relative to these
TChuktchis, or dcermen HO said they
came from an inland valley l65 miles
from the coast, on the other side of the
Trade mountains, and made the trip
down to the lagoon every year to lay
in a stock of fish and food for the |
winter. They brought their rein
deer and sledges, and went home |
loaded with the results Of their
three months labor. During their
sojourn by the lagoon Vincent !
rapidly regained his health, was entire
ly free from scGrvy, and became soon |
an expert herdsman. His good health |
he attributed not only to his strong !
cons Tuition, but also 10 the fact that !
be worked instead OF loafng, and, al |
though he ate nothing but fish and !
oeer's meat in two years, he never had |
scorbutic blotcb. AS the old man
ad given HIM 10 understand that he |
would conduct him to Plover bay on |
the Dehring Sea, Vincent readily went |
with them when in September, 1885, |
they broke camp.
Here Nincent's stoIy may be resumed |
in as nearly as possible his own words:
As soon as camp broke up / took
charge of a team Of reindeer, all the
fish Was packed on the Eleds. and our
train must have been = mile long and
looked like a little army moving over
the mountains. After We had travelled
for few days a halt was called, and |
learned that they were going TO wait
till the snow fell in the beginning of
October. During the whole trip We
only ate one meal day, and usually
travelled from four to fifteen miles, not
eating anything until the caravan had
been arranged for the night. They ar
range the sledsso as to form two sides ola
triangle, placing the nose OF each s'ed
10 the end Of the one id front. Then
when they are ready to break camp
they drive the herds of deer into the
open end Of the triangle and draw a
rope across. The old deer follow easily
into the corral Che young ones some
times give trouble), and then they are
thrown with lasso and whipped on the
ears with ropes, which is a lesson that
does not need to be often re-